March 30, 2008
March 26, 2008
The Recipe Challenge
I really like to cook, even though I’m not great at it. So when Devilvet posed a challenge to write a 500 word recipe on a theatrical endeavor, I figured I’d give it a shot.
This is a recipe that I’ve come up with in response to problems that I faced a lot in my undergraduate program. The drama club always had these grand ideas for fundraisers, talent shows, and full-on theatrical productions. All too often, the plans would be met with great enthusiasm but by the time the next meeting rolled around, the project would have been dropped. The result was that the drama club rarely did anything productive. I once proposed a solution, but due to general apathy, it never really caught on. I am posting this recipe in hopes that another group out there could use some help.
Recipe for Getting Things Done in an Organization
Ingredients:
- Team Leader
- Team Members
- Paper
- Pen/Pencil
- Patience
Instructions:
- Team leader should decide upon a project to pursue.
- Document basic ideas and sparse outline of project. Focus on the needs of the project, specifically as they relate to finances and to team resources.
- At a project or group meeting, team leader should present basic project idea and outline to the group. The idea here is to explain to the group what exactly the team leader is asking from them. In addition, the team should try and anticipate problems based on previous experiences (see step 7).
- Team members should agree to participate. Ideally, the project should be a coalition of the willing. In addition, there should be a clear chain of command. For example, the team leader might have the final say over the project decisions or the team might decide on a committee to make the final decisions.
- Once approved, set multiple deadlines for various aspects of the project. For example, if the team were organizing a show, then the designs should be in by the 10th of the month, the set and lights in place by the 20th of the month, etc. The final deadline, of course, should determine the rest of the deadlines. Plan them realistically.
- Communicate with team members regarding progress, problems, and solutions. More communication means fewer complications and mistakes. Don’t spend too much time communicating though, or the team will never get anything done.
- Once the project is complete, hold a post-mortem meeting to ask and document the answers to the following questions:
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- If the team were to do it all over again, how would they do things differently?
- Lather, rinse, repeat.
Notes: The two biggest points here are communication and accountability. By communicating effectively with one another, the team can avoid most of the problems they might otherwise run into. My documenting everything — from proposal to outlines to deadlines to post-mortem — the team is establishing accountability and records. Without accountability, it’s far too easy to drop the project or lose interest.
(354 words)
March 25, 2008
The Art of Interviewing
Last week, I interviewed at a school for their MFA Directing graduate program. I met the department head for two interviews, took a tour of the campus, and met several of the graduate students. The whole drive down there, I kept racking my brain to come up with some good questions to ask. I know that interviewers like to be asked questions as much as they like to ask questions. It gives an insight into the interviewee’s personality and life that they won’t otherwise get.
I racked my brain the entire way down. I couldn’t really come up with much.
The interview began, and every time I had a question pop into my head about whatever it was the guy was talking about, I asked it. I felt like I did a good job coming up with questions, and I honestly learned a lot more than I would have had I not asked those questions. At the end of the interview, though, he said “Well, we’ll set up another interview tomorrow. Think of some questions that you might have so we can talk about it tomorrow.” I was sorta disappointed. I didn’t have any more questions.
I got in my car on the way out, and I called one of my college professors, the one I always turn to when I have questions about theatre stuff. He’s pretty good with that kind of stuff. So I call him, and I ask him for some advice, for some kinds of questions I can ask that would, I dunno, make me look smart.
His response? “Ask about things you want out of a program, not just what’s required. Don’t ask about how many classes you can cut, or how much it costs, or anything like that. Ask about what you want out of the program.”
I said, “But everything I want to do is everything I’m required to do! He’s already answered every question I’ve had so far! And on top of that, he answered everyone question I didn’t ask!”
He laughed. “I guess I can’t help you then.”
Boy, did I feel stupid walking back into that interview the next day with no questions up my sleeve.
March 23, 2008
The Next Step
I’ve taken the next step. I’ve moved away from the town in which I’ve spent the past 8 years of my life. Somehow, I don’t feel much different. I feel a little more empowered, a little more free to do what I want. I feel a little less encumbered and a little less trapped. But overall, I don’t feel like anything major has happened.
Make no mistake, this is a huge move. I’ve spent the past six years waiting to leave, but every time I tried, something pulled me back in. I’d expound upon this some more, but I wrote an entire play dedicated to this situation, and I don’t feel like rehashing it much more.
Right now, I’m kind of in limbo. I’m trying to further my theatrical career, but it’s difficult. I have no idea where any of the local theatres are, but believe me, that’s one of the first things I’ll do. I need a job, cause I have a lot of bills to pay and very little money. And finally, I’m waiting to hear back regarding some graduate schools that I have applied to.
I had a very successful interview at a school last week. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, I loved the faculty, I asked a ton of questions (thanks for the tips, Scott!), and I was very impressed by the facilities. The town itself is once again in the middle of nowhere. The big differences is that this time, the town is ten times the size of my last hometown.
So, here’s to the future, to the next step.
Break a leg.
March 19, 2008
If you immediately know candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked long ago.
One thing that people do very often is stare right into the face of truth and ignore it. They let their preconceived notions and assumptions inhibit their ability to think for themselves, to learn. My roommate, for example, believes very strongly that evolution (just a “theory”) is a hoax, that God put the dinosaurs in the earth for us to find. Obviously, he doesn’t understand what a scientific theory entails. But his religious beliefs and other preconceived ideas keep him from accepting the fact that science has proven thousands of times that evolution works.
My parents believe that I’m wasting my time with theatre. Every time I call my grandmother, she says something along the lines of “Maybe you should try getting a real job.” My family has made this assumption that theatre is all fun and games, that it involves no actual work and focus and meaningful activity. A lawyer friend of mine derided the American public for grieving for Heath Ledger’s untimely death by saying “You guys are a bunch of idiots. You never knew the guy. Even the guy you think you knew, you didn’t know. He made a living pretending to be something else.” Yes, that’s what actors do, but there is more to it than simply pretending.
Theatre is a very hard industry to make a living in, I’ll grant you that. But people like Scott Walters and others are trying to come up with ways to help theatre artists make living wages while still producing their art. They’re challenging the base assumptions behind the status quo.
One of my favorite shows is Stargate SG-1. In that show’s first season, Daniel Jackson encounters an Ancient, an being who as ascended to a higher plane of existence (think the Buddhists’ Nirvana). Oma Desala, as the character is called, speaks in riddles to Daniel Jackson. One thing she says is “If you immediately know candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked long ago.” Daniel has no idea what it means.
Ten seasons later, I think I’ve figured it out. If you immediately know candlelight is fire (i.e. without thinking about it), then the meal was cooked long ago (i.e. you had already decided the truth). If you immediately know evolution is false, without looking at the facts or thinking about it, then you’ve closed your mind to any alternatives. In this case, you’ve closed your mind to the truth.
If you immediately know theatre is a waste of time, then you’ve already decided theatre artists are lazy people, no better than beggars and hobos.
Don’t be my parents.
Open your eyes to the truth.
Explore the possibilities.
March 16, 2008
Fail-safes
I’ve been keeping my mind and my eyes on the path in front of me. I’ve chosen a set of goals, a set of plans, and I’m trying to follow them to the best of my ability. As I go, I’ve been trying to keep my eye on the big picture as well. My life should be more than worrying about my next paycheck, more than worrying about whether my health insurance payment will be on time. My life should be about making a difference and being me to the best of my ability.
I’ve been asked a lot recently about my future. My parents are bugging me to get a job, and believe me, I’m trying to find one. I’ve come up with a series of plans and back-up plans to ensure that I get the future I want, but so far, things aren’t really working out.
Plan A: Apply to graduate schools, interview, and get accepted into a program. Finish the program, get some more professional experience, and direct/work professionally. My endgame is to wind up like Scott Walters, an old fogey in a cushy theatre professor job. (Just kidding, Mr. Walters. Sorta.)
Plan B: Should I not get accepted into grad school this year, find a job of some sort (whether teaching or something different). Work to pay the bills until next year when I can apply to a new round of grad school interviews and auditions. I will, of course, endeavor to stay involved in community and any professional theatre I can.
Plan C: Roll over and die. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to this.
March 12, 2008
Taking Flak for Being Well-Rounded (not fat)
Recently, I was talking to a fellow blogger who is a grad student getting her MFA in Directing. Obviously, this is a route that I want to go. However, during our conversation, she mentioned that she took some flak from the faculty about the few times when she stepped outside of the field to participate. She won an award or some such for a research paper she wrote, and her professors nagged her how she should be in an M.A. program if she likes to write so much.
Last weekend I visited SETC for some grad school auditions and interviews. During my grad school interviews, a college rep came up to me and asked to see my resume. Excited, I handed him one. Rather than interviewing me, though, he started rattling off tips for improving my resume. I felt slightly better after he mentioned he was doing this for everyone and not specifically because my resume sucked. He had some good advice.
At one point I pointed to a line on my resume indicating that I had a masters degree in Secondary Education.
“Is this a good thing to have on here?”
“Oh yes, absolutely,” he replied.
“It won’t show that I’m, I don’t know… flip-flopping, indecisive?”
“Oh no, not at all,” he answered. “It tells me a lot of things about you. It tells me that you’re an educated person. It tells me that you’ve already completed one masters program, and if you can do that, you can complete another. By having graduated with the degree, it tells me that you’ve completed one course of study and are now moving on to another. It tells me that you’re a well-rounded individual, and I know that when I take you and the other grad students out to dinner after a rehearsal, I know we’ll have something to talk about besides the show.”
So, apparently, it’s good to be well-rounded, educated, intelligent. Why, then, was my friend getting flak from her professors? It’s not even like she left the field of theatre altogether. She wrote about a theatrical topic. Shouldn’t directors be knowledgeable in all aspects of theatre? Won’t that make them better directors? If a director doesn’t have a clue about lights and how they work, how, then, can she communicate to the lighting designers what exactly it is that she wants?
I feel that exploring all of my options is very important. Even if I commit to a specific sub-field or course of study, I still feel that I should keep my eyes open on the horizon. I should feel free to study other subjects, so long as they don’t interfere with my main priority — directing.
Doesn’t everyone feel this way? Why wouldn’t they?
March 2, 2008
Downtime
If I don’t post often for the month of March, it’s because I’m busy preparing for SETC, IOD, and grad school interviews, as well as moving to Atlanta. It’s not that I don’t have time to write here, it’s just that I’m too busy with other things to take the time to think of new blogs. If something spontaneously occurs to me, I might write a post, but otherwise, don’t expect to see much for at least three weeks. After that, I should pick back up on my regular blogging schedule.